Agricultural economics is the study of applying economic principles to agricultural production and distribution. It helps maximize returns from expenditures, increase incomes with lower costs, improve marketing efficiency, and understand relationships between agriculture and other sectors. The scope of agricultural economics includes questions around production, distribution, consumption, and government activities related to farming and agriculture. In India, agriculture remains important to the national economy by contributing over 50% of GDP historically, employing over 50% of the workforce, supplying raw materials to industries, supporting international trade through exports of crops, and fueling the transport and trade sectors through crop movement.

2.  The word" agriculture" comes from Latin words "ager"
referring to the soil and "cultura" to its cultivation.
 Agriculture in its widest sense can be defined as the
cultivation of crop plants or livestock products.
 Definitions of Agricultural Economics:
 Agricultural Economics is an applied field of economics
in which principles of choice are applied in the use of
scarce resources such as land, labour, capital and
management in farming and allied activities.

3.  It is helpful in developing the logical efficiency and faculty of
observations.
 It provides knowledge about production, consumption, exchange,
distribution and public finance.
 By the study of Agriculture Economics, the householders can get
maximum return out of their expenditure.
 Study of Agricultural Economics helps in getting more income
with minimum cost.
 The knowledge of Agricultural Economics increases the
marketing efficiency
 It provides knowledge about division of labour and increases the
efficiency of labour.
 It shows the relationship with other social sciences.

4.  The scope of Agricultural Economics is to include the
questions- what to distribute, among whom to distribute and
on what basis to distribute, what to consume and how to
consume.
 Agricultural economics also includes the participation and
functioning of government in agriculture.
 Agricultural economics deals with the principles which
underline the farmer's problem of what to produce and how to
produce, what to sell and how to sell in order to secure the
largest profit for him, consistent with the interest of society as
a whole.
 In short the scope of Agricultural Economics includes
production, distribution, consumption and government
activities in relation to agriculture and farm enterprises.

5.  Agriculture sector forms the backbone of the Indian economy. The
role of agriculture in national economy is of vital importance.
1) Share of agriculture in the national income: Between 1950-51
to 1960-61 the share of agriculture was greater than 50 percent of
total GDP. The agriculture plays on important role in the nation's
economy which is still dependent on agriculture.
2) Agriculture as a source of livelihood: Agriculture provides
employment to around 52 percent of total work force in the
country. Agriculture dominates the economy to such an extent that
a very high proportion of working population in India is engaged
in agriculture.
3) Importance of agriculture for industrial development: Indian
agriculture has been the source of supply of raw material to
leading industries such as cotton, jute and sugar etc. There are
many industries which depend on agriculture in an indirect
manner like handloom weaving, oil crushing, rice husking etc.


6. 4) Role of agriculture in the field of international trade:
Importance of agriculture also arises from the role it plays in
India's trade. Agriculture products such as tea, sugar, oilseed,
tobacco, constitute the main items of exports.
5) Support of transport and trade: Agriculture provides the
main support for India's transport system since railways and
roadways secure bulk of business from the movement of
agriculture products.
6) Prosperity of farmers is prosperity of industry: Good crops
and high products enhance the purchasing power of farmers
thereby increasing the demand for other manufactured goods. It
will help to stimulate the growth of the non-agricultural sector
and also help to reduce and strain on foreign to exchange
earnings.